Yorkshire Dating
by Miss Puppet
Summary: (Another) spin-off from 'Woman of Yorkshire'. Just as Tim resolves to tell Ruth how he feels, one of Celia's well-intended schemes interferes…
1. Chapter 1

**Yorkshire Dating**

_Rated_: T  
_Fandom:_ Calendar Girls  
_Pairings_: Ruth/OC  
_Disclaimer:_ Another thing that isn´t mine. Belongs to Buena Vista International and Touchstone Pictures.  
_Spoilers_: It´s a follow-up on the movie, so you should watch that first.  
_Summary_: (Another) spin-off from 'Woman of Yorkshire'. Just as Tim resolves to tell Ruth how he feels, one of Celia's well-intended schemes interferes…  
_Genre_: friendship/romance

_Author's notes Part I:  
_(Only so extensive this first chapter, I promise)  
First of all, this story is for Lavenderandhay, as a thank you for her lovely Calendar Girl's story called 'Brave New World'.

* * *

The King´s Crown, Knapely's local pub, was slowly filling up and as Tim made room for Celia and Cora to sit down at the corner booth he and Rod had secured earlier, he couldn´t help but look out of the window for the umpteenth time. But once again the pavement leading up to the pub was empty and shining because of the rain that was falling in a heavy drizzle.

"Did Ruth get home alright?" he asked Annie who had joined him, Rod and Chris shortly after their arrival at the pub, with feigned nonchalance.

"Yes, I picked her up from the station at noon today," Annie replied brightly. "She's had a lovely time, got a gorgeous tan… I'd say Crete agreed with her."

"That's nice," he replied, trying to keep his tone level, wondering if it would be too obvious if he asked her if Ruth would be joining them this evening.  
Looking at Rod's already smirking face he decided that it probably would.

Luckily for him, Annie went on without needing any encouragement. "I told her we'd all be here for a drink tonight and she said she might come as well."

Even though her words raised his spirits somewhat, he couldn't resist the temptation to look outside again. Inwardly annoyed with himself he realized there was just no denying the obvious: he´d been a mess ever since she had left.

When Ruth had first announced her plan to go to Crete for a fortnight on a group travel, he had been highly supportive of the idea. After all, she had earned it, probably more so than anyone else. She hadn't been away since the Hollywood trip for the calendar and that was almost two years ago. And ever since she had returned from that she had been working tirelessly, trying to rebuild her life after her divorce to that good-for-nothing husband.

She had moved to Maple Cottage, started to work at the nursing home and had step by step claimed her life and her independence back. He had watched her as the months wore on and the friendship between them had grown how she had gradually become more confident, more at ease with herself and the situation she was in. As hard as it had been at first, he was in awe at how she had created a new life for herself. Without complaining or wallowing in self-pity about it, she had set to work and was now in fact doing quite well for herself.

He knew there was a vulnerable side to her new-found confidence. He knew how much Eddie's infidelity had hurt her, how she had berated herself for becoming – as she put it - such spineless woman during her marriage. Being one of the few people allowed in her confidence, he knew how at the beginning the thought of being alone had terrified her.  
In the end it only made him admire her more. Her quiet courage had astounded him the first time he'd met her in that bar in Hollywood and she had told him about the calendar. Contrary to what she thought of herself, he found her anything but spineless. To him it seemed she could do more or less anything she set her mind to.

He'd taken over the resident GP's practise a little over a year ago and now that he was well and truly settled into the community, he found that it had been years since he had felt so much at peace. After his horrendous break-up with Carol and the aftermath of their tumultuous relationship and the restless years of working for Doctors Without Borders he finally found himself considering settling down more permanently and since meeting Ruth the idea of building a future together with her had become increasingly more appealing.

He found himself to be irresistibly compelled to her warmth and her kindness. It had been months ago since he had first realised that she made him happy. That for some reason, her just being herself brought out the best in him. And he liked to think he could become the same to her. That him loving her and taking care of her would make her equally happy as well. As he discovered more particulars about the horrible, careless way Eddie had treated her – some of this he had found out from Ruth herself, but most he had learned from Chris and Celia who's disdain for Eddie had been a great deal more obvious and voiced – he longed to love her as she deserved to be loved, to show her just how wonderful he thought she was.

But still, as his feelings for her had increased rapidly over the months, something still held him back from actually acting upon them. It was a myriad of reasons really. The fact that they had both come out of a relationship that had ended badly weighted heavily on him. Even though he was by now entirely convinced that Ruth truly was a loving, caring woman who'd never hurt another person on purpose, the idea of committing himself again to a serious relationship still made him apprehensive. And as their friendship deepened he found it more and more difficult to risk it for the possibility of a romance. She cared for him, of that he was certain. If he was not very much mistaken there definitely was an attraction between them, but would it be enough for her to give up her independence, he wondered?

And now she had been on a vacation, another item on a long list of things she could accomplish on her own now. At first he'd been genuinely pleased for her. Having been to Crete himself once, he could easily picture how much she would enjoy it. The history of the place, the beautiful beaches, the small towns and markets… But after a day or three he'd begun to realize how much he missed her. He had grown accustomed to seeing her almost every day, either at the nursing home, through their mutual friends or simply just bumping into here somewhere in the village. It was only then he realized how much these casual moments where in fact a highlight in his day. By the time the first week had ended he was ready to admit to himself that he was just plain miserable without her.

The days of the second week dragged on like a dead weight and as he suddenly found himself once again staring at the dark ceiling of his bedroom in the middle of the night – something that had rarely happened since he'd moved to Knapely – the thought had suddenly struck him that it was quite possible that this vacation-trip would bring a big change to her life. She might be completely unaware of it, but Ruth was in fact a very attractive woman. Feminine, caring, loving… and she was on a group travel with a group of people of her own age category. As she had mentioned casually one time as they were talking about it, it was mostly couples, but there were bound to be a few single men as well. Relatively young widowers, divorced men… men who would undoubtedly see how beautiful and wonderful she was… who wouldn't be so stupid as to waste a good eighteen months before making their feelings obvious…

* * *

He had been so lost in his gloomy thoughts that he hadn't noticed her entering the pub until she was already standing in front of the booth and he was alerted to her presence by everyone else's cheers. Getting to his feet rather ungallantly, he could feel his heart skip several beats as he took in the sight of her: she was wearing a simple, white cotton blouse on a pair of jeans. The white of the fabric contrasted beautifully with her brilliant tan. Her hair seemed lighter because of the sun and as she glanced up at him briefly, beaming as she did, he noticed the tiny, golden freckles that now adorned her nose and cheeks. She looked glorious.

There was a flurry of hugs and kisses for a moment and then she was back in front of him and for a mere moment he allowed himself to wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her in a semi-hug and inhaling her scent. She smelled like sun and warmth and as he pulled back he saw her radiant smile and felt his own widen in response. For the first time in two weeks he felt the tension completely dissipate. They all sat down and after some shuffling around he found himself sitting near the end of the booth with Ruth pressed snuggly against his side.

Annie, who had been previously sitting next to him had somehow managed to scurry to the other side of the booth, leaving room for Ruth to sit next to him and fleetingly he caught her amused grin, deciding to ignore it for the time being and concentrate on the warm feel of the woman sitting next to him. The Mediterranean sun must still be caught in her skin because from where her bare arm was pressed against his, he could still feel it's warmth to the thin fabric of his shirt.

"So, tell us, Ruth! How was Crete?" Celia boomed across the table.

"It was wonderful!" Ruth replied enthusiastically, "I've never seen such a beautiful sea, the water there is just as blue as you see on the postcards or brochures." And as she related all her vacation adventurous, he found himself drawn in by her voice and words, her animated gestures and her shining brown eyes, picturing them together in that tropical paradise, walking hand in hand along the beach, the waves rolling over their bare feet. Going for a swim in the sea, just the two of them and the moonlight. Exploring the narrow streets and alleys of some ancient town with her. Having her entirely to himself to show her exactly how much he loved her. Making love to her underneath the wide open windows of their hotel room, the sound of the sea in the background.

Suddenly it was all so very clear. Despite all the caution, despite the risk of staining their friendship… he could no longer deny his feelings for her anymore. Could no longer brush them off as an infatuation or a mere attraction. He loved her.

And it was high time she knew about it.

* * *

_Author's notes Part II:_  
I've never been to Crete myself, but my sister has so I've heard plenty stories and saw plenty of pictures to pretend what it's like to go there for Ruth. So I choose that as her vacation destination. As I was writing it, I realized it was also heavily influenced by the Downton Modern AU RP on Tumblr.  
Originally this 'Ruth returning all beaming and gorgeous from a sunny vacation and completely flooring Tim' was intended as a one-shot, but of course these things quickly grow into more, so this will be multi-chaptered.

**But for now, I'd love to hear what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note:  
Sorry about the delay, for some reason this took forever to write. _

**Chapter 2**

She´d decided to have a glass of red wine to mark the end of her vacation and the alcohol was now noticeably taking its effects. She was feeling pleasantly drowsy and all-together content, sitting there, draining the last few sips from her glass, watching Chris and Celia having an animated debate about something or another and Tim´s solid presence beside her, making her feel warm and secure. Earlier during the evening, as the rain had been clattering against the windows and she had finally realised Yorkshire was decidedly chillier than Crete and that the thin blouse she was wearing (though it did compliment her new tan) did very little to keep her warm. She had dug up a cardigan from her bag and tried to wriggle into it without knocking Tim´s pint out of his hands or poke his eye out, but that had proven to be almost impossible to accomplish from her crammed position on the booth. Instead he had taken the cardigan from her hands and draped it carefully around her shoulders, helping her to slid her arms through the sleeves.  
That had been over an hour ago, but he had never removed his arm from the backrest of the booth, so that she was now effectively sitting in the crook of his arm. It was nice, she decided, slightly surprised by the fact that this didn´t make her feel uncomfortable at all. It was in fact, _really_ nice. It was good to be home again.

"Say, Ruth!" Celia boomed across the table again. "Did there happen to be any nice men that caught your fancy while you were in Crete?"

Next to her, Tim choked slightly on his drink and she waited a few moments to make sure he was still breathing before turning her attention back to Celia and responding to her question. "There were a few nice men… most of the people there were quite nice in fact, but the group consisted mostly of well-established couples, so no… no fancy business."

She wasn't about to tell Celia that at the very beginning of the trip there had been a man who'd been interested. A man from Whitby no less, only a few years older than herself. She'd learned early on that he was a widower, that his wife had died a year and a half ago from cancer. He had in fact known about the calendar, it had been among the first things they'd discussed – a bit to her mortification. Rather soon she had gotten the impression that he'd been looking to make a new start, that he was tired of being alone and that he was ready to meet someone new. In those first days he had singled her out often and there had been these subtle hints that he might be interested if she appeared to be interested as well… It had cost her a sleepless night to decide that she wasn't interested and that she wasn't going to shy away from letting him know that.

Albeit a little lonely perhaps, she was happy with her life as it was now, with her work, her friends, her home… and now she simply wanted to enjoy Crete, wanted to emerge herself in another country, another culture without having to take another man's wishes or expectations into account. He was a nice man, but nothing more than that. She had just managed to put this entire business with Eddie behind her. She had finally come to a point where the memory of it didn't hurt so much anymore. Because despite everything that had happened between them, despite the farce their marriage had eventually turned into, she had once genuinely loved Eddie, loved the man he'd been then. And for a very long time – perhaps too long – she had held on to that memory. And now that she had finally moved on from it, she wasn't going to settle for another convenient relationship.

"In that case, you might want to take a look at this…" Celia's insisted voice brought her back from her musings and leaning forward a bit, Ruth looked down at the brightly coloured brochure Celia had put on the table as she was speaking.

"_Funky Fish… dip into the pool of internet dating,_' she read out loud. Thoroughly confused she looked up again, a frown forming on her face. "Ceal… what is this? Why would it interest me?"

"Well…" Celia sat up straighter, with the distinctive air of someone who had just came up with a brilliant scheme. "I was thinking… You are very much interline these days, aren't you?"

"_On_line," Ruth corrected her with a grin. "I wouldn't say that, but I do like the internet, it's very convenient. You know, I found out about this group travel to Crete from looking at their website."

Discovering internet was another one of the gains the past year and a half had brought her. Upon Marie's insistence she had signed up for an internet course months ago. Marie was notorious for her shameless harassing people in taking courses at the village hall, firmly believing that without the community's participation traditional skills and crafts wouldn't be persevered for the next generation.  
Over the years, Ruth had fallen quite often into Marie's trap and had completed a rather long list or rather redundant courses, as there were the '_Make your own slippers out of felt_', the '_Recognize your local edible mushroom'_ and the '_Grown your own organic vegetables_' courses.

But the _'Find your way on the digital highway'_ course had turned out to be very interesting. Once she got the hang of it, she felt like an entire new world, filled with possibilities had opened to her and when her first Christmas bonus had come in, she'd decided to treat herself to a laptop and have internet installed at Maple Cottage.

Right now however she was still staring rather bewildered at the brochure. "I still don't understand what it has to do with me," she said slowly, noticing somewhat to her discomfort that the entire table had become quiet and was watching them rather intently.

"Well, if I understand correctly, it works like this…" Celia continued brightly. "You become a member of that site… don't ask me how, you'll probably figure that out much quicker than I ever could, and once you are you can… what's it called again? Email other members."

At least Ruth now had an inkling as to what Celia was going at. "And you think I should create an account on this…" she checked the brochure again, "Funky Fish website?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, it sounds like something that would suit you," Celia replied, sounding surprisingly genuine. "I know you're not the type to approach someone straight away… this emailing-thing might be easier."

"Assuming that I want to meet someone new," Ruth said calmly.

"Well, don't you?" Annie asked seriously.

"Oh… I don't know…" Suddenly acutely aware of the fact that Tim was sitting only inches away from her and had grown very quiet, Ruth hesitated with her response. "Like I told you before, I think I would… I'm just not sure this is the way to go about it."

"Isn't it very risky?" asked Cora, who until then had been rather quiet. "I mean, you don't know who you're writing with… it could be anyone."

"Not more so than meeting any stranger you're interested in," Celia replied. "You just have to keep your common sense with you." She turned her attention back to Ruth. "Will you do it?"

"I'll think about it," Ruth conceded, after a moment's thought. When Celia was about to interrupt, she held up her hand. "That's all I can promise right now, Celia."

"Alright then." Probably deciding that this was the most she would agree to this evening, Celia pushed the brochure across the table in Ruth's direction.  
And a little apprehensively Ruth proceeded to fold it into her purse.

* * *

Around half past eleven Ruth decided to call it a night. The rain had finally stopped and as she shrugged into her coat and stepped outside the pub she was quite unexpectedly joined by Tim who fell into step beside her.

After her inquiring glance he told her casually: "I thought I'd walk you home."

"That's nice," she responded quietly, smiling fleetingly in the dark. They were silent for the first minutes, just walking side by side passed the dimly lit display windows of Knapely's High street, before taking a turn and going into the much quieter Coron Street. It was only then that Tim asked: "So you enjoyed Crete?"

"Oh yes," Ruth answered happily. "I'm so glad I went. I wasn't sure I would, but I really enjoyed being away for a bit, getting some distance."

"I'm glad you're back though," he told her. A little startled by the seriousness of his voice she looked up and found him gazing down rather intently, causing her stomach to flutter nervously. Sometimes, when he was looking at her like that she felt like he was staring right through her. She often wondered what he was thinking when he was observing her so closely, but at the same time she really didn't want to know.

"It's good to be home as well," she told him, a little breathlessly.

A smile lightened his face and as they crossed the street she felt his hand on her lower back for a moment. Picking up on his mood, she asked with some amusement in her voice: "Did anything world-shattering happened here while I was away?"

They chatted about the village until they reached Maple Cottage and although their conversation was easy and comfortable like it always was, Ruth couldn't help but feeling that there was still something distracting him. But it wasn't until she pulled the front door key from bag that he finally addressed the subject that had been bothering him.

"Ruth… It didn't make you uncomfortable, did it?" Upon seeing her blank expression he added quickly, "Celia and her… _Funky Fish_ brochure."

"Oh… no… it didn't," she laughed softly, partly out of relief, partly because of the obvious distaste in his voice. "I know the girls mean well. In fact, we've been talking about it before I went to Crete… I told them I didn't fancy spending the rest of my life alone, so I suppose they are just trying to give me a nudge in the right direction."

"You don't?" he asked surprised. "I thought you enjoyed your independence so much."

His steel blue eyes were once again boring into hers, making it difficult for her to gather her thoughts.

"I do…" she replied eventually. "But it doesn't have to be the one or the other… I don't mind being single now, but if I were to meet someone…" She stopped, blushing furiously. This was as far as she dared to hint at something she wasn't even certain of herself to begin with.

"Wouldn't you?" she asked, turning the tables on him.

He smiled at her, never breaking their eye contact. "I would," he told her softly. "I most definitely would."

Furiously trying to figure out what he meant by those words, Ruth continued to stare into his eyes, feeling a whole herd of butterflies doing summersaults in her stomach as she did.  
After a few breathless seconds he added with a small grin: "But I'm still not certain about this Funky Fish business…"

Ruth ducked her head, fighting down a giggle. "I'm not either, to be honest. Not that I don't appreciate Celia's input." Reaching a decision, she shook her head. "I don't think I'm going to use that brochure."

"You'll tell Celia no then?"

Even Ruth couldn't deny that his voice was sounding rather hopeful.

"I'll tell her no," Ruth agreed. "Although…" she added wryly, "the last time I told Chris or Celia no I ended up on a calendar without a stitch of clothing on…"

His laughter filled the quiet, dark night air and she joined in, suddenly feeling lighter and happier than she'd felt in years.

Until she became aware of his hand on her elbow, pulling her a little closer and the fact that he had quiet down.

"Oh Ruth…" his voice was soft and filled with amazement and before she truly understood what was happening he was leaning in and very gently brushing his lips over her cheek.

"Sleep well…" The suddenly shy look on his face melted the last solid bit of heart and she bit her lip before giving him a brilliant smile. "I will… you too…"

Slowly, almost reluctantly she started to walk towards the front door and turned the key, looking back at him before she stepped through the door. He'd already began to walk away, but was still looking at her. Fighting the mad urge to run after him, she stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind her before leaning against it heavily. Vaguely she was aware that she was standing there, at midnight, beaming in the dark like a love-struck idiot, but for the moment she couldn't care one bit about it.

* * *

**I'd love to hear what you think! **


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